Is there a God?

[Ridgley]

That depends if you are a beliver or not?

[Brendan]

There we go.

Problem solved.

[Narnia]

Ridgley Wrote:

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> That depends if you are a beliver or not?

Believer in what?

[Ridgley]

If you believe in god and an after life, lots of faiths have different believes in this

[SeanMacGabhann]

Which came first ? early (and current) human need to believe in an afterlife (and whistling in the dark before public lighting) or the different faiths of the world?

Interesting that peope who believe in an afterlife hold out the possibility that it?ll be a good place ? for them anyway. I?m willing to bet that if the afterlife promised to be literally hell, fewer people would cling to the belief

[Narnia]

Ridgley Wrote:

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> If you believe in god and an after life, lots of

> faiths have different believes in this

But the thread is called 'Is there a God' not 'There is a God'. Now you just need to back up your assumptions that there is one and a heaven for the purpose of the debate.

[Ridgley]

That is my point, there some people that belive there is a god after death that they will see him it is called the resurrection. Myself I belive there is one just by faith.

[Huguenot]

Just to clarify Ridgley, do you see the bible as a 'literal' truth (as in it really happened), or as a 'metaphorical' truth (as in it communicates difficult ideas by presenting a moral fable)?

[Ridgley]

I do believe the Bible as some literal truth, I am no expert but it talks about historical figures and events and place that still exist now. And our laws where made by the foundation of this.

[SeanMacGabhann]

Yep - because before the bible, killing people and stealing stuff - that was all legal wasn't it? Oh no, hang on..

Still at least the Bible was carefully translated just the once and doesn't have any competing translations. Oh no, hang on...

Harry Potter makes reference to real places too - it doesn't make it literal. or literate

[Ridgley]

So the following places is not literal places,oh no hang on......

Babylon - Ancient Mesopotamia,

Egypt The land of the Pharaoh?s ? I e where Moses was born

Greece - Once a super power Alexander The Great

Italy Super power ceasar

Yes the Bible has been, translated in many versions but they still mention these literal places

[SeanMacGabhann]

I didn't say the Bible doesn't mention real places Ridgely - I just said that doesn't make it in any way special. Lot's of books mention real places.

Harry Potter mentions Kings Cross - but it doesn't make the bit about the flying buses true

Ditto the bible mentioning babylon, or some real people

[Ridgley]

Its funny when human beings, getting to difficulties like being shipped wrecked or facing life threading situation is not the families they call out to it is ? oh god!

[SeanMacGabhann]

and when they come. Don't forget that

But what people call out for in despair or otherwise isn't proof of anything other than not wanting to be alone in the universe now is it really?

[????]

anyway, I'm not convinced its always true, I was reading something about ordinary soldiers in WW1 and one of the things that struck (and choked) me was how those in the trenches could hear the wounded in No-mans land calling out for their mums as they were dying

[Ridgley]

But are there alone in the universe, that is where we differ.

[Narnia]

I know religions like you to believe in God Ridgley, and just to encourage you not to leave them, they tell you about HELL!

It appears your faith is based on an old book though. Do you think God sits on a throne and has a beard too? If heaven is all it's cracked up to be, what age will you be there (even if you live till 90 here) or will you not have a body?

[Ridgley]

Actually I don?t believe that god is a being sitting on a throne, know body knows what god looks like you only have an idea through his prophets that wrote the bible if you belive that is the case. For an old book as you call it has some great guide lines is that not the foundation of our laws in this country and many other countries. If I get there as you put it that would be great who knows each to there own.

[Narnia]

I actually believe that 'heaven' is on earth Ridgley, as is hell. I just can't prove it. How did the prophets describe what God looked like, I'm curious and I don't remember being taught this? I suspect that god doesn't actually 'look' like anything. Being humans we tend to have a human view of things which is based on our experiences and concepts, however they were developed. If there existed something beyond our comprehension, well we wouldn't be able to comprehend it. Hence we alter things to suit our needs.

[Jeremy]

Narnia, you're wrong. He has a beard.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Well if you're gonna quote the Bible, you jolly well should, young Ridgley!

Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4 just to be going on with.

[silverfox]

Narnia said:

"... If there existed something beyond our comprehension, well we wouldn't be able to comprehend it. Hence we alter things to suit our needs..."

Exactly Narnia, or even because our humanity finds the idea incomprehensible let's take the easy option and dismiss the possibility

[Huguenot]

I only brought it up because if you believe the bible is literally 'true', you don't require faith.

I think the argument that it must be true because we have laws based on it is weak. Organised religion perdisposes society to cooperative hierarchies. It's convenient to base law on it.

[Mick Mac]

???? Wrote:

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> anyway, I'm not convinced its always true, I was

> reading something about ordinary soldiers in WW1

> and one of the things that struck (and choked) me

> was how those in the trenches could hear the

> wounded in No-mans land calling out for their mums

> as they were dying

That's because there were no men out there, only women. Best shout for a woman in a no mans land.

More seriously, I think when close to death, as I saw with a close relative, you go back to the early days of your existence in your mind, you seek the comfort of those days and that is where your Mum provided the most comfort any person achieves in life, noone else really achives that.

As we see with our own children, the mother to child bond is something special that's not easy to exceed.

[Ridgley]

Thanks on the young Peckhamgatecrasher, in regards to how do the prophets describes what god looks like I was referring to his personality not looks and what he stands for which you can see through his son if you believe that Jesus is the son of god.